tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24888873163917801442018-03-19T07:31:42.093+00:00Help! I Need a Publisher!Nicola Morgan, the Crabbit Old Bat, is an award-winning author of around 90 books across many genres. For the last few years, she has given crabbitly honest advice to determined writers, here and in her books, WRITE TO BE PUBLISHED, WRITE A GREAT SYNOPSIS, DEAR AGENT and TWEET RIGHT. Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comBlogger559125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-9336670157153306482017-11-17T11:20:00.000+00:002017-11-17T11:20:01.081+00:00[Reposted from my main website because it's undergoing a HUGE change and posts about writing/publishing won't appear there once it's done.]
This is for authors, agents and publishers but book-lovers might well be interested.
Years ago, I came up with the term Fair Reading but failed to get very far with it. At the time, people seemed to think all authors were rich; now I think they realise Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-89115629910520115512014-06-15T12:34:00.002+01:002014-06-15T12:34:47.999+01:00What am I doing?
Just in case you're wondering what I'm up to, I'm over at my Heartsong blog, which is embedded in my main website and where you'll also find all my books, chat, help, news, and BRAIN STICKS™, resources for teachers about the brain and mental health. And while there you might like to sign up for my Brain Sane newsletter, which is free and has giveaways every month, to anywhere in the world.
Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-79317400367795012522014-01-01T10:00:00.000+00:002014-01-01T10:00:03.286+00:00New Year, new directionIn September 2012, I announced that I was laying this blog to rest. I'd said everything, many times; I was tired, and I needed to focus on other work, focus on trying to earn a living. I was also starting another blog, a more general one, though including writing advice, over on my main website.
A year later, in September 2013, three months ago now, I announced that Crabbit was back. That I'd beNicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-80337538672067970832013-12-05T07:20:00.000+00:002013-12-05T07:56:20.177+00:00420+ writers and lovers of children's books protest to The Times
Lucy Coats, children’s author and friend of mine, recently
wrote a letter to The Times (of London). They didn’t print it. So
what, you might ask? Except that this letter was signed by c425 (I lost count!) people from the
world of children’s literature, including 16 Carnegie or Greenaway Medal
winners, the current Children’s Laureate of the UK, Malorie Blackman, the
Children's Laureate of Eire,Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59651560660926121042013-12-03T17:45:00.000+00:002013-12-04T09:13:39.942+00:00Online traps for unwary writers...Imagine you're a writer or illustrator who one day hopes to be published. Yes, I know: most of you are, so it won't be hard to imagine. Or imagine you're already published, as many of you are.
Imagine that you've created a character, or a world, or whatever, and you're writing about it on your blog or wherever. Imagine you put some text or some pictures, sketches perhaps, on your Facebook page. Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59783950027932332312013-11-29T07:30:00.000+00:002013-11-29T07:30:00.248+00:00What blogs have helped you in your writing/publishing journey?On Friday, I came across this lovely thing. The writer FC Malby had mentioned my blog in her list of five writing blogs that had inspired her.
As you'll see from that post, the blog Write to Done has launched a search for the Top Blogs for Writers in 2013. That's a huuuuuuge US-based blog and I barely began to read the vast list of nominations in the comments so I've no idea if anyone has Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-68283018550862718532013-11-23T09:00:00.000+00:002013-11-23T09:00:02.357+00:00Social Media Navigation for AuthorsI'm doing a social media navigation workshop today for SCBWI at their conference, so I've blogged on Heartsong giving a load of resources, including my powerpoint as a pdf.
There's also a link to a brand new (published today) book called Blogging for Beginners. Emily contacted me about it just in time, because it means I can cut part of my talk today and just tell people to read her very neat Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-7593768078924032013-11-20T07:15:00.000+00:002013-12-02T19:19:30.536+00:00Published authors self-publishing - all together nowOver recent weeks I've interviewed nine published UK children's authors who have also self-published. I asked them to give tips for any of you considering doing the same and they have come up with generous and wide-ranging advice.
The reason I wanted to focus on writers who have already been published in the traditional way is that this is a blog about getting a publishing deal with a Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-42414984992310500452013-11-15T07:30:00.000+00:002013-11-15T07:30:03.245+00:00Caveat writer
A writer emailed me the other day asking for advice about a submission she had just made to a "publisher". She did not tell me (and I did not want to know) the name of the "publisher" but she did mention one thing and that's why I have put the quote marks around "publisher".
She said the "publisher" had said in the "terms and conditions" that writers would be asked to contribute to the costs.Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-58350316135290409332013-11-11T07:30:00.000+00:002013-11-12T12:45:59.258+00:00News!First, it's my birthday.
Second, I'm going to the dentist for nasty things.
And third, I'm announcing a new ebook, to be published three weeks today!
Actually, TWO novels in ONE ebook. The Passionflower Massacre and Sleepwalking will be available in a single ebook three weeks today, December 2nd. I'm very excited about this and have wanted to do it for ages but struggled to find the time.
Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-35993633147157607482013-11-07T07:26:00.000+00:002013-11-10T11:07:34.871+00:00Published self-publishers 2: four more children's writers speakThe rest of my published self-publishing authors are here today, with links back to their main interviews on Heartsong. You'll see range of different approaches, but all professional. All have been published in the traditional way before and have used what they've learnt.
First up, with a vast amount of advice, generously shared, Diana Kimpton, with There Must be Horses. I love Diana's realism, Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-55585940801669964742013-11-01T07:25:00.000+00:002013-11-01T07:25:00.181+00:00Enid Blyton - a thoroughly modern writer(Duplicated from my Heartsong blog today.)
Recently, I had the chance to go to Newcastle's Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books. I had some time to kill in the morning so I had a lengthy browse of the fascinating and atmospheric Enid Blyton exhibition. Now, much has been discussed about the aspects of her books which today offend us as sexist, racist and simply Not On. And Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-6216572237837151242013-10-31T08:00:00.000+00:002013-10-31T08:00:09.784+00:00Published self-publishers 1: four children's authors talk and bring you booksI'm running a new series of posts, featuring published writers who decide to self-publish one or more books. I'm cross-posting on both blogs for the best exposure for the authors. Below, I refer to the first four, which have all been on Heartsong this week. Four more next week.
Daniel Blythe - Emerald Greene and the Witch Stones. Here's my favourite thing that Dan said: "I haven't got involved Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-8652809358924833352013-10-28T07:20:00.000+00:002013-10-28T07:20:00.731+00:00Fewer words does not mean quicker to writeAn Amazon review of one of my ebooks some time ago - it was either Write a Great Synopsis or Dear Agent, I don't remember - says something along the lines of "probably written in a weekend." It goes on to praise the book and I seem to remember it had four stars. Which is good.
But that remark reveals a common misconception about the skill of writing. It does not necessarily take longer to write Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-8764996416536406182013-10-24T18:03:00.003+01:002013-10-24T18:03:45.385+01:00Society of Authors survey on the impact of author visits
A press release by the Society of Authors reveals the huge benefit of author visits on pupils, libraries, and schools.Our children's laureate, the fabulous Malorie Blackman, agrees. ‘With over two decades of first hand experience regarding school visits, I have seen and learnt for myself just how much of a difference author and illustrator visits can truly make. Such visits inspire not just Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-52604693683868796702013-10-15T13:05:00.000+01:002013-10-15T17:54:39.255+01:00Self-defence for authorsThis disgraceful and sad situation in which a children's author found herself recently could easily have been avoided. I don't blame her at all for not realising how she could have avoided the situation; she acted out of goodness and trust, and seemed isolated from the support networks of other writers who could have helped her set the ground rules before the event. She has now, I think, felt theNicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-1426743931736200062013-10-14T07:29:00.000+01:002013-10-14T07:29:00.126+01:00On being paid for events - and how I set my feesSome of you will have seen me write vociferously about fees for author events in schools. I thought it might be helpful to link to the main posts in one place. I regard it as very important that professional people are paid for their work. It is, after all, what "professional" at least partly means.
Of course there are times when a professional person reasonably and rightly offers a free event Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-55409534593111214772013-10-04T07:30:00.000+01:002013-10-04T07:30:03.953+01:00Will publishers accept my previously self-published novel?This question arose from a Twitter conversation. A writer who had self-published his novel, in order, as he later explained, to get feedback and see whether it/he was good enough to be published, then saw that a particular publisher's submission guidelines said it wouldn't consider previously self-published books. The writer wondered if this was normal. I said it was, and so did the publisher.
Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-45685350975518837252013-10-03T07:30:00.000+01:002013-10-03T07:30:01.831+01:00Revision - Laurie Halse Anderson speaksI came across a wonderful post by Laurie Halse Anderson, which absolutely nails the revision process in a way I can't begin to do better.
She is a writer I admire hugely. I loved her books Speak and Catalyst particularly. Catalyst is a book I recommend to parents as a warning that high-achieving teenagers may be under far more intolerable pressure than they let on.Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-60927200096628630552013-10-02T07:00:00.000+01:002013-10-02T07:00:07.610+01:00Valuable advice on self-publising in ALCS NewsLet me draw your attention to a very well-rounded article by Caroline Sanderson in the current ALCS News.
I'm not here to give advice about self-publishing (though I could, having done it moderately successfully myself). What I want to do is flag up this bit, because it raises some points I'd like to emphasise for all writers:
"At the Society of Authors day, an alarming number of self-publishedNicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-18825932263157410892013-09-30T07:00:00.000+01:002013-09-30T07:00:00.951+01:00Dear Crabbit: why no agent contests in the UK?This question came from Elizabeth for Dear Crabbit:
Agent contests are fantastic things for writers - so why aren't there any in the UK targeted at UK agents?
I've been doing the rounds of them in America. Even if you don't win, the feedback you get and the chance to make contact with other writers is amazing. Only your blog in the UK has ever come close to giving me that same feeling.
In the Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-19216292675135797132013-09-27T07:00:00.000+01:002013-09-27T07:00:03.743+01:00Do you have a life or have you lost it to social media?I am obviously deeply fond of you but I admit I don't honestly care too much what you do with your life, which is yours for the enjoying. However, I do care what you do in the name of "being a writer". Because, the most important thing about "being a writer" is "writing". And social media can steal that from you.
I speak as one who knows. Trust me!
I blogged about this for Scottish Book Trust Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-14262158606189764752013-09-25T07:30:00.000+01:002013-09-25T10:24:13.231+01:00Dear Crabbit: My story gets going in Ch4, so 3 sample chapters don't work for meOn Twitter recently, a writer, Andy Barratt, said, "1st 3 chapters of my book are short & more like a prologue, the story kicks off in the 4th & so lost in a submission. Help? :("
Very reasonable question and definitely worth a blog post.
For those of you who don't know (and there can't be many): a normal submission contains the first three chapters, a pitch letter and the synopsis. Sometimes Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-62469731849056227572013-09-23T07:20:00.000+01:002013-09-23T07:36:36.166+01:00Do you have the bottle for a major re-write?
Yes, I have a cheeky little Sauvignon chilling in my fridge...
That might help but it's not what I'm talking about, sadly. I'm talking about bottle. Bravery. Even bravado. A touch of derring-do.
It's something that separates the sheep from the goats, writing-wise: the ability and willingness (OK, that's two things) to tackle a major rewrite. Some writers - and I'm one of them - feel that Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-8177159514954084652013-09-20T07:22:00.000+01:002013-09-20T07:56:41.259+01:00I AM crabbit! I AM! *glares*At the Festival of Writing at York last weekend, I was regularly accused of not being crabbit. I found myself having to defend my title of Crabbit Old Bat in the face of people rudely accusing me of being far too nice. I was mortally offended by this impertinence, so, just to make absolutely clear my credentials for being the first Google result IN THE WORLD for the title, let me explain why and Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.com5